


a dash of cloves

by tentaclemonster



Series: 100 Fandoms Challenge [44]
Category: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. - Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland
Genre: 100 Fandoms Challenge, Background Relationships, Epistolary, F/F, Gen, Halloween, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22416685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tentaclemonster/pseuds/tentaclemonster
Summary: Erzsebet Karpathy discovers Dollar Tree and celebrates Halloween.
Relationships: Erzsebet Karpathy & Melisande Stokes
Series: 100 Fandoms Challenge [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1257083
Kudos: 4
Collections: The 100 Multifandom Challenge





	a dash of cloves

**Author's Note:**

> 044/100 for the 100 Fandoms Challenge. Written for prompt #95 – crowd.
> 
> This fic is dedicated to a real cat named Jaws who earned his name for obvious reasons and who we love even though he has destroyed countless holiday decorations and will hopefully continue to do so for many more years to come.

ENTRIES FROM PERSONAL JOURNAL OF

Karpathy Erzsebet

CAMBRIDGE, 10 OCTOBER 2018

Dear Diary,

Today I had breakfast at the Oda residence with the rest of my compatriots as has become our usual routine since the Irish witch Gráinne took over D.O.D.O. Tristan Lyons continues to bring boxes of pastries to these meetings that are substandard even compared to the sweets of my day and continues to consume nearly all of them himself while Melisande watches him do this as though his gluttony is some alluring feat. I will never understand her attraction to this man even if he did give me back my számológép. She could still do better, diary, but I am sure I have said that to you enough by now that even your paper must be as tired of having it written upon it as I am tired of thinking about it so I will digress for your sake and mine.

The morning was fairly dull other than one topic of interest raised about our plans for this coming Halloween. Julie has suggested we have a party this year at the Oda residence. Although some reactions were not so enthusiastic (Tristan, Rebecca), likely because of the events of the last Halloween party and the fact that it was her residence being offered without her being asked, respectively, others were receptive – notably Melisande whose interest swayed Tristan and Oda-sensei who said that he thought it would be nice to have a break, thereby swaying Rebecca.

I was cautiously excited about the idea of a party at first, myself. Minus the treachery of last Halloween that Gráinne pulled me into and that I still feel the stirrings of guilt over from time to time, the party we had at D.O.D.O. was the most fun I had had in a very long while. Of course, I was not responsible for planning the party then like I apparently am now. Julie volunteered to go to a place called ‘Dollar Tree’ in order to buy decorations and volunteered both Melisande, myself, and Rebecca to go with her to – quote – “make a girl’s day out of it”. 

My excitement waned. Though I would usually enjoy a shopping trip, party decorations hold my interest very little and being responsible for putting them up even less. Rebecca tells me that this ‘Dollar Tree’ sells much more than just party favors and I pray she is right so that I will not be terribly bored when we go this weekend.

x------x

13 OCTOBER 2018

Dear Diary,

Today was the day of our group Dollar Tree trip and I enjoyed the experience much more than I thought I would. 

The day started out with all of us getting into Julie’s rather small car which she referred to affectionately as a ‘punch-buggy’, whatever that means. Rebecca East-Oda rode up front with Julie while Melisande and I had to share the cramped space of the backseat. I did not dislike sharing this space with Melisande as much as I would have had I been forced to share it with anyone else and I found myself glad that none of the men (particularly Tristan Lyons) had joined us. We drove for what felt like quite awhile due to Julie’s slow driving and eventually ended up at a very large cluster of stores of which the Dollar Tree was the largest.

Diary, I do not think I have ever been in such a strange place before and I have been in quite a many very strange places in my long life.

Upon walking into this Dollar Tree, I found myself immediately blinking with irritation. The lighting in this store was the most horrible of any place I have ever been in, a bright but somehow dull white that made young faces look corpse-like and old ones look alive. Only Rebecca looked somewhat normal here, as did the other older women who were shopping (of which most of the customers were). Julie, Melisande, and I were not so lucky. When I caught a look at my face in the aisle full of mirrors, I thought that I would die of horror. I wanted to leave the store immediately upon seeing myself, but Melisande stopped me by telling me there was a whole aisle of beauty products just next to the aisle of mirrors and also clothing and I found myself easily persuaded. I avoided looking at reflective surfaces for the rest of the trip, however.

But, other than that, this store was not such a bad place. 

The Halloween decorations we were seeking were right there as we entered, three full aisles of them and an entire back wall, and despite my earlier lack of interest, even I was amazed by how much there was and in how much variety. Included in all of this was a great deal of witch-themed products that I found myself – pardon the word, diary – charmed by. In particular I quite liked and bought a sign meant to be hanged upon a door which said ‘the witch is in’ on one side and ‘the witch wants to be left alone’ on the other. I foresee this sign being quite useful to me if we ever move operations outside of the Oda household again. Julie and Rebecca both bought a sign as well. 

I also found that Rebecca was telling the truth: the Dollar Tree has much, much more than just decorations. There was not so much clothing but I found many pairs of knee-high socks (almost as high as the stockings I used to wear in days of old in Hungary) and a great number of scarves, all with colorful patterns that were very pleasing to me. The store also had eyeshadows and lipsticks in numerous colors and more sorts of perfumes than I could possibly try the scents of in one shopping trip. Melisande sneezed quite heavily upon finding me opening boxes and spritzing them in the air and when I asked her how much these were, she informed me they were only one dollar each and that so was everything in the store.

I found this all quite astounding but took great advantage of it, buying more than any of my three companions combined and eliciting a promise from Melisande that I can return to this Dollar Tree whenever I want. I think I now understand what Magnus found so attractive about his Walmart but that place is a thieves’ den compared to here, selling the same things but at much higher prices and with their blue-vested army who are of such number that one cannot go into another aisle without tripping over them. If I were to ever write an ode to a store, I know which of the two I would chose, but I would never do something so silly.

x------x

20 OCTOBER 2018

Dear Diary,

Costume shopping with Melisande today. To my consternation, we did not return to the Dollar Tree. Tristan Lyons was in a state over how much I spent on our last trip and no amount of telling him that each item was only one dollar each could dissuade him from his ire. 

“We are on a budget,” he said to me in that voice I do not like, as though he thinks he is my father and he forgets that I am so much older than he. “We don’t have the funding that we used to and especially not for – for scarves and socks and useless things like that!”

“Useless, is it? Would you like me to be naked?” I asked him. “Would you have me walking around with my chest bare and my nether on display when I am the one who has done so much work for you for so much time? Would you begrudge me a one dollar scarf when you will not even allow me to go back to Hungary so that I can spit on the graves of my enemies? Is that so much to ask for?”

His face turned a rather alarming color at this but he did not complain further and so I was allowed to keep my things, which were my goals in being so brazen. However, I believe he instructed Melisande to prevent me from spending so much on future shopping trips and she has of course conceded to him because she has terrible taste in men. The audacity of him. If it had been Melisande who bought so much, would he be so irritated with her? Yes, he would, because he is a horrible little chipmunk of a man. Pah! 

No man from the Hungary of my time would ever be such a miser. Melisande really deserves a man who will let her spend what she will and let him worry about paying for it, but women of this century have been fooled into thinking such a thing is degrading to them or something else as nonsensical as all that. No doubt it was men like Tristan Lyons who made up that little bit of “wisdom” so they would not have to stray from their precious budgets.

Shopping for costumes was still pleasant, however, as are most outings I have with Melisande alone (which are not as many as I would enjoy, though I need not tell this to you, diary, as you already well know it). 

Melisande asked if I wanted to dress as a witch again this year but I said no, that I did not want to repeat my costume, and she accepted this reasoning. Truthfully, I would just rather forget that last Halloween happened at all and not remind anyone of it by dressing the same. I wish I had never went along with Gráinne’s plans. I care not at all about what she has done to that awful Blevins or that pompous Frink, but I think of what happened to Melisande and what I almost did to Tristan and I feel sick with regret. I would like to turn Tristan into a toad most days, true, but he is still my friend, I suppose, and I care for Melisande much more than anyone else on this earth and I would not have been able to live with myself had they been thrown back in time and stuck there and I had been complicit in their misfortune.

Melisande and I browsed for awhile and ultimately decided that we would be ‘disco dancers’ for Halloween. I do not quite know what this means but we both found very shiny metallic-colored dresses that looked quite nice and costume jewelry to match. From my previous Dollar Tree trip, I also have gold and silver eyeshadow and glitter which will make us look better in our costumes and so I spit on Tristan Lyons and his assertion that my purchases were useless. Clearly he does not understand the benefit of being prepared.

x------x

29 OCTOBER 2018

Dear Diary,

We spent today decorating the Oda home in preparation for the party two days from now. Rebecca East-Oda was quite specific that we could only decorate the living room and kitchen and outdoors and so this is what we did. Julie and Mortimer placed most of the decorations while Tristan and Melisande attempted to herd the Oda’s cats away from them and prevent them from tearing down anything that was particularly “dangle-y” as Frank Oda described. One cat, a somewhat heavy black tom with a white patch on his throat who Frank tells me is named ‘Jaws’, got hold of a paper decoration of a witch that was covered in glitter. This witch could not be recovered without risking injury. Jaws likes to bite; my paper sister was therefore left to his mercy.

I spent most of this day watching Miss Melisande Stokes, laughing quite heartily at her failings with the cats. She was laughing, too, as was Tristan. At one point their eyes met and they laughed even harder, looking at one another as though there was no one else in the room. I felt quite uncomfortable then and I got up and left for the kitchen where I halfheartedly put up some decorations there. I could still hear Melisande laughing in the other room and felt very alone there in the kitchen. I think I hated Tristan Lyons in that moment more than I ever had, even if he had done nothing on this day to cross me, though this feeling was settled later when he told me I may order as many dumplings for the party tomorrow night as I would like.

x------x

31 OCTOBER 2018

Dear Diary,

The Halloween party was a success. I looked amazing in my ‘disco dancer’ costume and Melisande looked very good in hers. Gold is definitely her color and she would benefit much from wearing it more. I could not even be annoyed when Tristan Lyons looked at her as though she were a cake and he a starving man, only feel smug that I was the one who put her look together and that I had seen her in the costume first.

Other costumes include: Julie and Mortimer as some couple called ‘Lucy and Ricky’, Rebecca as a garishly dressed redhead school teacher from a cartoon called Ms. Frizzle, Frank Oda as Frank Oda but wearing a headband with cat ears, Tristan as a pirate, and (surprise guests) Macy Stoll and Chira Yasin Lajani as a rather skimpily clad doctor and her nurse, respectively. 

We also had many children ringing the doorbell to beg for candy as children are wont to do on this holiday (something we prepared for at Dollar Tree by purchasing a large orange bowl with black pumpkins on it and many bags of candy, a fact that I announced loudly to Tristan and took pleasure in the grudging look of appreciation it caused to come across his face). We took turns answering the door and when the children asked me what my costume was and I told them a ‘disco dancer’, they did not understand what that was any more than I did. I eventually started to tell them that I was a witch and they accepted this easily. Though I would never admit this aloud, seeing them all in their costumes and so happy with just a few pieces of candy lightened my heart but also made it ache. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like had I had children of my own instead of having to live this life I have lived. I rarely think of such things, as it is not pleasant to do so, and so I pushed these thoughts away as I always have when they occur. 

I spent a good deal of time after that sequestered in the kitchen getting amazingly drunk. Mortimer had brought more alcohol than I had ever seen in my life and I took advantage of it while I was alone. When Melisande came in to the kitchen, I was sitting on the counter with a half-empty bottle of rum in my hand. I think she was somewhat intoxicated herself because she was giggling as she came in and stumbled a little. I laughed at this and that’s when she noticed me and she laughed too. She then came over and sat on the counter next to me and I very much liked the way her golden dress felt when it brushed against my skin.

“Having a good time?” she asked me.

“Yes,” I answered her. “It is better than last year, I think.”

“Last year we had Blevins, though, so that’s not saying much.”

“Pah!” I took a long sip from the rum bottle. “Horrid little man. I do not feel sorry for him at all. He should be Sent back to live with the dinosaurs and the mammoths.”

Melisande let out a peal of giggles. “He **is** a dinosaur.”

“And a mammoth. A hairy, foolish –“ I started laughing then, myself.

We both finished our laughter (and I finished the rum) and things were quiet for a long while, but not in an uncomfortable way. I enjoyed the silence and I enjoyed having Melisande next to me, the cool of her dress and the warmth of the rest of her. I thought to myself that if Tristan Lyons walked in at that moment looking for her, I would find a way to perform terrible magic on him with or without the ODEC if it was the last thing I did.

“You are good in here, right?” Melisande asked, very seriously. I could tell that she was concerned for me and I felt touched by it.

I considered speaking with her truthfully and confiding in her a great many things, but I thought that I would regret doing such a thing after drinking so much and so I decided not to.

“I am fine,” I told her. I waved the hand holding the bottle in the air as though brushing her concern off. “I only needed to get away from the begging children for awhile. They are very many and very, very loud. I will be back out there soon to get food and continue handing out the candy.”

I could feel Melisande watching me from the corner of her eye but I refused to look at her. She sighed and placed a hand on my knee and gave it a squeeze before she removed it and hopped off the counter.

“I’ll make sure Julie doesn’t eat all the shrimp dumplings. I know how much you like them.”

I smiled and tried to pretend that I was not still thinking about her hand, that I could not still feel it’s impression on me. “And the pork, too.”

Melisande laughed and nodded. “Alright, those, too. Don’t be in here forever, Erzsebet.”

“I won’t be,” I said. 

Melisande left. I stayed sitting on the counter and after a moment of consideration, I placed my hand upon my own knee where Melisande’s had been. I squeezed it as if trying to relive the moment and then felt foolish – it was not the same.

I finished the bottle of rum and hopped off the counter, cursing under my breath when doing this made me a little dizzy. I took a deep breath and steadied myself and then left the kitchen to go back to the party. Melisande smiled when she saw me and handed me a large plate full of dumplings of many sorts. I thanked her and sat down on the couch next to Frank Oda to eat them and stayed there even after I finished. 

I eventually fell asleep with Jaws the cat curled into my chest, thankfully not biting for once, and when I woke up in the morning I had a blanket wrapped around me that I suspect was put there by Melisande. I regretted not being able to say goodbye to her but all told, I think I enjoyed the party and look forward to next year.


End file.
